Beauty & Body Image (Advanced Lesson Plan)

ESL/EFL Level: Advanced (C1/C2)
Lesson Topics: beauty trends, plastic surgery, body dysmorphia, self-esteem
Skill Focus
: Speaking, Reading, Listening, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: body-image-lesson-advanced-032023.docx
Lesson Overview:

  • After a short warm-up, a reading passage introduces three different medical trends related to body image. The passage ends with a description of some terminology related to disorders.
  • Post-reading activities include two role-plays related to body image, two debates (one about genome sequencing and the other about advertisements), and a few quotations.
  • All lessons come with warm-up questions, vocabulary questions, and discussion questions.

A woman looking doubtfully into the mirror.

Note to Teachers:

  • Body image is a sensitive topic for some students. Please consider whether your students would feel comfortable discussing this topic in a group. Also, be sure to read the lesson in full before using it (and feel free to make some edits).

ADVANCED (C1/C2) ESL Lesson Plan on Body Image

Warm-up Questions (Pair Work)

  1. Do you spend a lot of time on your appearance?
  2. What do you do to keep fit and maintain your appearance?
  3. What are some unusual beauty procedures that people have to look a certain way?

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-- EFL Lesson plan on body image written by Matthew Barton of EnglishCurrent.com (copyright). The sketch from the second debate was generated by DALL-E-2. Site members may photocopy and edit the file for their classes. Permission is not given to rebrand the lesson, redistribute it on another platform, or sell it as part of commercial course curriculum. For questions, contact the author.

Follow-up question answers

  1. It means that his insecurity was slowly causing him to become more and more unwell, or even, incomplete.
  2. False: The physician says they used to be considered a deformity.
  3. (Answers vary)
  4. Getting elf ears would be the cheapest (assuming there are no complications)
  5. The quotation marks indicate that the flaws are not in fact real but likely only in the mind of the sufferer.
  6. ….

Vocabulary answers: 1-e, 2-L, 3-g, 4-b, 5-k, 6-c, 7-a, 8-j, 9-g, 10-d, 11-f, 12-i

2 comments on “Beauty & Body Image (Advanced Lesson Plan)

  1. Maria Anna Teves (Posted on 3-5-2023 at 22:11) Reply

    This is another great topic that would make my students voice out their opinion and share ideas. Thank you! Keep ’em comin! I always use your lesson plans!

    1. mb Post author (Posted on 3-5-2023 at 23:10) Reply

      That’s great to hear, Maria. How do you use the lessons? Do you make any edits? I’m a little starved for feedback (if you have time, please complete this: https://forms.gle/iyv8Hk6wZBb48BCC7)

      Feel free to leave comments letting me know how each lesson goes or what edits would be helpful. I’m not teaching conversational English now (only college classes), so I’m making these lessons but not using them (which is weird).

      Glad to hear you like ’em. I’ll keep ’em coming.

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